School Boy Heart
by jmkw
Summary: Cal comes to visit Beantown and sets Woody into a tail spin....
1. Wanting to Be an Only Child

Disclaimers:  I don't own them; I just like to give them a hard time every once in awhile.

The title is  from a Jimmy Buffett  song of the same name  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Woody---

_Ring.... ring_

I opened one eye to look over at the clock; it was three in the morning. Who could be calling at three in the morning?    

_Ring....ring_

Laying there for a minute, I debated on letting the machine pick it up. After all it was three in the morning. I yelled for whomever it was to go away.

_Ring...ring_

My eyes were open now, and that pesky feeling was there in the back of my head.  Maybe it was the station..... and the batteries in my cell were dead.....I couldn't remember...was I on call tonight? 

_Ring...ring_

Why wasn't that machine picking up?  Giving hope, I groped around in the dark for the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Hey bro!"___

With a sigh, I decided I should have waited for the machine. "Cal, why the hell are you calling me at three in the morning?" Need I have asked...

_"Dude, I need a favor."_

I sat up and turned on the light.  Going back to sleep was out of the question after hearing Calvin's deep voice. He always had a way of ruining a good night's sleep; even when it was just his pre-tonsillectomy snore as an eight year old. 

"Couldn't have this waited until morning."

_"It is morning Woody. Milking starts in a half hour!"_

Milking?! Cal wouldn't be caught dead near a barn at three in the morning, unless he had an angle.  I had to dig deep to find the strength to not climb through the phone line to throttle him. "What do you want?"

_"Can I come and visit for awhile?"_

Visit?  Since when has a brotherly visit fit into Cal's social calendar?   "Depends"

_"Depends on what?"_

"Depends on if it is for less then 24 hours and you're paying for your own airfare."

_"I love you too..."_

"Cut the crap Calvin, what kind of trouble are you in now?"

_"What makes you think I'm in some kind of trouble?"_

I strained to look at the clock again. "You're calling at...at 3:06 in the morning, wanting to come and visit me...."  

_"So?"_

If he answered me with one more question I was going to kill him. "Are you running from the law?"

_"No!"_

"Dad kicking you out again?"

_"Ah, not yet" _

"Job?"

_"When my horoscope is good.."_

I laughed to myself.  There was only one other possibly. Cal had always lived a charmed life. "Calvin, Calvin, Calvin"

_"What?"_

"Which is it this time....Blonde or brunette?" 

_"...Redhead"_

"Congratulations... you're branching out.  Let me take a wild guess, you didn't notice the wedding band on her left hand..."

_"You know I'm not into those kinds of details Woody."_

"How many times have I told you, those details are important."

_"Think of it this way, bro....if I'm in Beantown you can jump up and down on your soap box all you want. I can't just hang up the phone on you like I normally do."_

I was tired of arguing; frankly I was just plain tired. Then it occurred to me, maybe having Cal around for few days would be fun. Having him here would give us a chance to just hang out.  The chance that was short lived the last time they were together. 

"Ok, Ok, give me a call when you get your fight scheduled so I can make arrangements to meet you at the airport."

_"Well....I landed fifteen minutes ago" _

"You're kidding right?"

_"Nope"_

"I should just make you sit there until a logical hour of the morning. What if I'm not alone?"

_"Woody, remember who you're talking too...eat, sleep and work... that's all you do... and not necessarily in that order."_

I sounded pathetic even to my own flesh and blood. "What gate?" I looked around wildly to find something to write with as he told me the gate number.

_"So, say thirty minutes in front of the baggage area.... "_

"Make it an hour...and you're paying for parking too." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forty five minutes later I walked through the deserted baggage claim at Logan.  I shook my head at the sight of Cal sitting by the luggage return carrying on an animated conversation with a pretty young stewardess.  He looked up and caught my eye as I approached; that cocky smile firmly in place.  

It was good to see him. 

"Dude, you're late."

"Calvin."

"Woody, this is Becky.  She was nice enough to sit with me while I was waiting for you."

"Hi" the little blonde smiled. She pressed a slip of paper into the pocket of Cal's flannel shirt. "Give me a call when you get settled.  It was nice meeting you...Wally."

Wally; that was a new one.  Normally I just fade into the woodwork when my brother is around.  It was always 'Cal and his big brother' or 'Cal and the other one.'  And when my name was mentioned, it was always 'Woody, you have such a great brother...'   "That's Woody. Nice meeting you ...Becky." 

With a wave, we watched as she strolled down the concourse.  I hated to admit it but I never could fault Cal's taste.  Once she was out of sight I looked at my watch;  "Well, Cal I think that has to be a new record, you're in town for...one hour...in a deserted airport terminal and you already have a phone number."

Patting his pocket he said "Actually, I got one as I got off the plane too. Hey, maybe we can double date?"

I threw my hands in the air I said "You scare me....Thanks but no thanks. Let's go I'm parked in the red zone."

"Isn't that against the rules Woody?"

"See, you're rubbing off already on me.  When did you say your return flight is?" He just gave me that cat with the canary smile that could mean just about anything. I waited patiently while Cal gathered his stuff, once in the car I asked, "So, how long ARE you expecting to stay?"

"Dude, I just got here.  I was at least expecting you to show me some of the sights of the city.  You know like Fenway, the FleetCenter ...hey, maybe that 'Cheers' bar...and I really want to meet this Jordan chick."

I laughed out loud at that.  Jordan would see right through Cal's charm and cut him to his knees with that tongue of hers. ..Or would she?  "No way am I going to let you within a hundred feet of Jordan Cavanaugh."

"Don't worry Woodrow...the rules are the rules and you saw her first.  Besides she cuts up dead people for a living.  That's too weird...even for me.  When it comes to women I know my boundaries ..."

Every female over the age of 18 was on Cal's radar...or more likely visa versa. "Boundaries? Just like you knew where they were with this married redhead."

"That was different.  She asked me to dance.  And she grabbed MY ass...How was I suppose to know she's the new deputy's wife?"

"The new deputy's wife? How do you always get yourself into these situations?" 

Shrugging his shoulders, he replied, "I don't know...Mom says it's the smile."

"It's more like your line of bullshit..." 

Cal contemplated that for a second and then commented on the pre-dawn skyline. "Woody, did you know that marshmallow fluff was invented in Boston?"

"No, I didn't" I was not shocked at the direction the conversation was taking.  After a lifetime with Calvin I was use to it.  He was the kind of person who would yell out the answers while watching 'Jeopardy' before Alex Trebek could finish reading them. I pointed out a few landmarks as we drove to my apartment. 

After a few minutes I couldn't hold in the questions that were burning on my tongue any longer. "How are things really going at home?"

Cal only smiled "I wondered how long it was going to take you to ask."

"Well?"

"Good, I guess.  Things are starting to get back to normal; well, as normal as they can be.  I'm guessing Mom told you they voted in the new sheriff and few weeks ago." Cal folded his arms and leaned back in his seat.

"Yeah, she left a message on my machine"....along with the obligatory 'Woodrow if you had stayed in Kewanee where you belong instead of living half a continent away, the job would have been yours.'  No wonder I never returned the call.  There was one more thing I had to know. "How...is Annie doing?"

"She has her good days and her bad ones....by the way she's getting married around Christmas time."  

Cal looked over at me. I could tell he was gauging my reaction.  "Woody, man...you knew it was bound to happen..." 

"....Yeah well...Annie's a great girl.  I knew she wasn't going to sit around long.  Actually I'm... actually I'm happy for her.  I hope her and Carl have a good marriage." When he didn't reply I glanced over at him and he quickly looked away. There was more to the story.  Defiantly more. 

"It's not Carl."

"What?!.... Who?"  

"...Bobby Knapp"

"Bobby Knapp ...like in my ex-partner, Bobby Knapp!?"  He only nodded. "I know they were friends but...Wait a minute; what the hell happened to not marrying a cop?!"

"I guess the reasons were buried with her father..." He did have a point. Annie was willing to elope with me but with Bobby's help, I was convinced I couldn't do that to her father. 

"Whatever... so, what happened to Carl?"

"Hell, I don't know.  I figure he was on the road too much.   Bobby was always there for her after...well...you.  Woody... man, you shot them both in the foot when you left.  We all thought maybe it would be easier to hear this in person."

Talk about news flashes...why didn't I see this when I was home?...maybe because I was only there a short time, but most likely, because I was thinking about other things...other women.   I honestly didn't know how I felt about this and that made me very uncomfortable. I had to concentrate to keep my car heading though the early morning traffic. "So, is that really why you flew out here?  To break it too me gently?"

With a snort he said, "Heck no, I'm waiting for a 6'4" bald deputy to cool off."

I didn't expect Cal to answer any different. I just rolled my eyes. We could always talk about this later. "Do you have any more uplifting information to share from home...?"

"Not really, oh, but someone did take all the picnic tables out of the pavilion and put them in the middle of the Hanley field again last weekend.."

 I looked over at my brother remembering the half dozen times he had pulled this same prank.

 "Hey, it wasn't me this time!  After the fourth or fifth time it was getting boring...and besides, your not there to get spun up about it any more.  That was half the fun of it."

"Why do I find that hard to believe..."

"It's all part of that Peter Pan complex Mom's always talking about."

"More like not enough Ritalin..."  

 "You know the drill.  We just go in a give the place a fresh coat of paint before moving the tables back in."

"This new sheriff may not look upon your "pranks" as a way to get free labor for city projects."

"Like I said it wasn't me...But, I don't think it'll be too much trouble with the new sheriff."

"Why?"

"Because...well, because I'm standing up for him at his wedding to Annie..."

"WHAT?"  The rug had finally been pulled out from underneath me.  Bobby Knapp was the new sheriff, Annie was marrying him, and Cal was now standing up for them.  I was scared to think of what else I've missed. Did Mom and Dad adopt him yet?  

"I'm guessing Mom didn't tell you WHO got voted in as the new sheriff..."

"I assumed it was Perry. He was the old man's right hand man." 

"Perry decided it was a good time to retire, which is why they hired this new guy with his hand happy redheaded wife  .....You know come to think of it, Mrs. Perry pinched my butt one time in the Piggly Wiggly.  Maybe it has something to do with being married to a deputy."

My mind screamed 'stay with the topic Cal... for once'...  "Mrs. Perry gropes everybody Calvin.  Let's get back to the point, just when you were going to get around to telling me that you, Bobby and Annie were that tight."

"Dude.... you cut a path a mile wide when you headed east." 


	2. Battleship Flashbacks

Having left Cal in my apartment with two new boxes of cereal and the remote, I sat in my office later that afternoon trying diligently to finish up some work so I could take a long weekend.  
  
Unfortunately, I couldn't help but let my mind wander over what Cal blurted out on the drive from the airport. I knew Annie was upset about everything. How could she not be? I took the easy way out...no visit, no call, just a note. And then there was Bobby...He just questioned my sanity. He thought I was flushing a promising career down the drain to take a job, sight unseen in a city that we had only read about in history books.  
  
At the time, Cal seemed to be the only one in favor of my...escape. He was right there helping me pack up the pieces of my past. How many times had Cal himself announced a new mission in life only to pursue it as far as his attention span would let him? I would never admit it to his face but I admired the guts he had to chase his dreams, no matter how obscure they were at times.  
  
By the time I had double-checked the last report I had to file for the day, I had made the decision to just enjoy having my little brother around for a few days instead of beating myself up over the 'what if's'. I couldn't expect life to stop in Kewaunee just because I grabbed the first chance I could to get out. Now if I could only convince myself.  
  
Great, the last signature....Dinner at a steak house sounded good. Maybe even a few beers and a game of pool somewhere....somewhere decidedly Cavanaugh free. All I had to do was clean off my desk and...  
  
"Knock, Knock...you in there farm boy?"  
  
I looked up from my pile with a big sigh. Great, just when I thought I could stop dwelling on the 'what ifs' of life for one day.   
  
Jordan breezed into my office like she owned it.  
  
"Penny for your thoughts, Hoyt... You look like you were a thousand miles away. "  
  
She sat on the edge of my desk and began to thumb through the stacks of paperwork laying there.  
  
"Anything interesting?"  
  
"Just taking care of some old....stuff...." I quickly closed the file I was working on.  
  
Giving up her search she began to play with the name plate sitting at the edge of my desk. After thinking all day about living with my hyperactive, free spirited brother for however long he planned on staying-- her actions were starting to get on my nerves. She wanted something from me I could feel it. But I was not in the mood to get wrapped up onto one of her tangents right now. Opening a drawer in my desk, I grabbed the name plate from her and throw it inside. Slamming it closed I stood and walked over to the door.  
  
"Bad day?"  
  
What are you doing here Jordan?"  
  
"I was in the neighborhood.... Since when do I need a reason to stop by and say Hi?"  
  
HA! She did want something. Well, whatever it was I frankly didn't have the time or the patience to deal with her. "Because you never just stop by and say Hi."  
  
This wasn't fair. Jordan hadn't done anything to deserve my argument...at least not yet. But I was going to leave my office without being led by my nose. Today I was going to be ready.  
  
Jordan bit her strawberry colored lip. Damn, she was beginning to pull out the big guns already. She must have known I was preparing for battle. "Well, this time it's different"  
  
"Yeah, right...I don't have time right now Jordan. I was just getting ready to leave." I crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall, bracing myself for her request.  
  
"I was hoping I could get you to look over the Stephenson file with me."  
  
There it was...The set up..."The Stephenson case? I thought that was closed."  
  
Jordan studied her fingernails instead of answering. She was working her next tactical move. All I had to do was ...wait...let her to speak first and I would have the upper hand. Don't bite Hoyt, don't bite....Crap, I felt the words bubble out before I could stop them.  
  
"And you're stirring the pot because you don't have anything better to do?" She had a direct hit without even opening her mouth! But I wasn't sunk yet...  
  
"The department was in such a hurry to put it to rest...I was hoping maybe we can talk about over dinner." Oh no, she blindsided me. Dinner. It was a ploy Hoyt; one designed to knock down your defenses...I scraped my hand down my face and stepped away from the wall. Damn the torpedoes...  
  
"As tempting as that sounds Jordan, I have plans tonight." By that deer in the headlight look I realized I scored a direct hit!  
  
"You have a date!"  
  
I smiled, her reaction was not quite what I had in mind, but it worked. If she assumed Cal was my date... so be it. After the beating my self confidence has had since this morning I needed the boost. Victory was at hand I could feel it....  
  
"Would that be so hard to believe Jordan?"   
  
"It's just...I didn't.....wow....I guess....have...good time."  
  
She hopped off of my desk and stood there for a second. Little did I know she had one last shot in her arsenal...  
  
"Guess I'll see you around..." She reached a finger up and traced my jaw.  
  
Crap. I felt the murky seawater begin to rise around my neck... "Here, let me see it...."  
  
Jordan pulled the file out of her bag and handed it to me with a smile. I kicked myself for falling straight into her trap...and she knew it by the smirk on her face. I looked over the standard report. I remembered hearing a sound bite or two about the case earlier in the week. It was ruled an accidental death. It seems the lady was some kind of heiress who was totally off her rocker.  
  
"What am I looking for?"  
  
Jordan looked over the open file and pointed at the tox screen. "Amy Stephenson died of Brodifacomn poisoning. Rat poison pretty standard stuff even in the 7 digit high rise condo they found her in. She must have mistaken it for her Grapenuts for the amount that was in her. Her intestinal tract was pretty much mush."  
  
I cringed at the visual she just gave me. "And you wanted to talk about this over dinner?"  
  
With a nonchalant wave of the hand she continued "But this is what I wanted to show you...she had traces of Chordane in her system."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"Some nasty stuff that was banned here in the States almost thirty years ago...." I closed the file with a snap. She was beginning to pull me into that vortex of a mind of hers. Maybe if I just stepped away...  
  
"Ok, I'll take a look at it later Jordan ...I need to go home and change, I'm going to be late."  
  
"Oh, right...I... ah give me a call when your...free...or...ah...I'll be working at Dad's place tonight."  
  
I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face. She may have won the war. But the small victories are sweet. "I'll call Jordan...when I'll available."  
  
To be continued... 


	3. Woody Who?

I watched fascinated as Cal polished off a very rare 32 ounce T-bone like it was his last meal.  He always ate like he was storing up for winter.   I kind of missed the times when we were kids challenging each other to eating duels. I would always come up short. Mom put a swift end to them before I could turn the tables.  While Cal would walk away victorious, I would walk away...fatter.

My own steak lay tortured on my plate. I wasn't that hungry. I couldn't help but feel a little guilty over the way I treated Jordan earlier.  

"Dude, if you didn't want that side of beef we could have just ordered a pizza, stayed at your place and got drunk."

"No Calvin, watching you eat is making me lose my appetite.  When was the last time you ate?"

He pointed at his plate with his fork.  "Like this? It seems like years.  Mom put Dad on one of her diets again.  Wood, I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to start eating lunch with Dad."

I laughed to myself.  Mom had a cupboard full of fad cookbooks all because her ill fated attempts to get our father to eat healthier.  Little did she know, Dad would just make a stop down to the greasy spoon in town and order a burger and fries for lunch at least four times a week.   

Cal put down his knife and folk.  He pushed his plate away and put his elbows on the table.  "Why do I have the feeling my eating habits are not what's eating at you Woodrow?

Cal could always read me.  Funny, I never could read him in return. I hated that about him.  I picked up a dinner roll and began to rip it into pieces dropping them on my plate.

"I just have something on my mind that's all."

"This is about Jordan, isn't it?

"No, It's just you still haven't told me when your return flight is."

"She came to see you earlier... right?"

I could swear he was psychic on top of everything.    "Yes... it's about Jordan. She needed a favor from me and instead of saying no; I just let her think I was on a date tonight."

Cal couldn't hide the smirk on his face as he pulled his plate closer and began to saw into his steak again.  "I think it's only fair to warn you bro, I don't put out on the first date.  No matter how much you just spent on dinner."

I threw a piece of mangled dinner roll at him "Smartass" 

"So, do I get to tag along on this 'favor'?"

I had thought about dropping him off someplace while I went to pick up the files from Jordan.  But I knew I'd never hear the end of it if I did. 

I raised my hand to flag down our waitress to get the check, "Finish up. I'll take you this little place I know and buy you a beer."

"Hey, like in 'where everybody knows your name'?"

"Not quite." But I was sure by the time we left everyone would know his name....and I would be back to 'Woody who?'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I reluctantly brought Cal to Max's place.  We walked into the crowded pub and looked for a seat at the bar.  The tourists were packing the city for the summer holiday season...apparently they were packing in here too. 

"So this is where you drown your sorrows and spend your paycheck..."

"No, those are the bars you hang out in Calvin." I noticed a pair of empty seats at the end of the bar and pointed them out.

"Pogue Mahone. Who would name their bar 'Kiss My Ass'?"

"I won't ask where you picked up that piece of knowledge."

"Those few weeks I spent in Orlando during my landscape architect phase."  A lopsided grin fell across Cal's face. "There was this girl from Ireland that worked at EPCOT...who had a smart little mouth along with uncanny ability to wrap her legs around... "

"I really don't want to hear about your exploits right now..."

"Oh come on, you never complained before........Hello... who is THAT?"

Cal motioned to Jordan who was standing farther down the bar franticly looking for something underneath it.  She looked up, noticing us sitting there. A smile lit up her face.  For a second I vainly let myself think it was because of my presence.  But then I realized I was right..... She was smiling because I was sitting there. She had reeled me in...Yet again.  

"Torment."

Cal stopped gawking for a split second and said "I'm impressed Wood.  She doesn't look like Quincy....medical examiner pay must really suck if she's moonlighting in a bar. "

"Her father owns the place..." We both jumped at the sound of Max's voice in front of us. "Evening Woody, What can I get you gents?"

"Hi Max...Looks busy in here tonight."   

"Tourists.  You got to love them. But it is a little crazy."  Max looked over at Jordan who was back to searching under the bar.  I could tell she was beginning to swear like a sailor. 

"A couple of drafts Max "

"Coming up."  As he was filling the mugs he asked "Who's your friend?"

"Max, this is my brother Cal."

 Max's eyes lit up and he offered Cal his hand.  "Glad to meet you Cal. Welcome to Boston."

"Dad, where is that bar book?"  Jordan stomped up to her father pushing a stray lock of hair out of her face.  I felt that inevitable stab of sibling jealously when Jordan looked Cal up and down with an eyebrow arched. 

 "Is this your date Woody?  He doesn't look like your type." 

Heads turned when Cal burst out laughing.  He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and laid a slobbery kiss on my temple.  I wanted the floor to open and swallow me whole.

 "No Jordan, this is Calvin."

Both her eyebrows shot up with surprise. "So he is for real...I thought you made him up when you went on your forced vacation."

"I wish I had." I mumbled into my beer. 

Max scratched his head and looked around "I put that book somewhere....."

"Some yuppie over at table six ordered a 'Velvet Hammer'...."

I stuck my nose in my beer because I could feel what was going to happen next.....

Cal put up his hand like his was a school boy tentatively answering a question in class. "Crème de Cacao, Vodka, Cream over ice..."

Both Max and Jordan looked at Cal with surprised looks.   Max spoke up "Are you a bartender Cal?"

"Nope, I got stuck in Vegas a year or two ago and needed some quick cash.  I read the bartender's manual so I could fake it and get a job in a bar. Once I took care of my marker I left town."

Jordan let out a slightly unladylike snort. "Woody, you couldn't have wired him the cash?"

"I was done bailing his ass out of trouble by that point."

With a laugh she said, "I think I'm going to like your brother Woody." 

"Great."

"Well, as much as I would like to sit and chat, I have to get a Velvet Hammer out to table six sometime tonight. Now, where the hell is that shaker?" Jordan began to look around the bar again. 

Max had an amused look watching Jordan's frustration.  "Calvin how would you like a job for the night."

"You'll pay in beer?"

"And you can keep your tips."  

Cal slapped me on the back and said "Dude, a job!"

He jumped around to the opposite side of the bar and rubbed his hands together.   He scoped out his new surroundings like surgeon getting ready for surgery.   Jordan stood back with her arms folded.  "While you're at it I need two Stingers and a Vodka Collins.  

I could tell I was in for a long night. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three hours later I found myself sitting at a table toward the back of the room watching my brother hold court at the bar.  Jordan was laughing at something witty he had just said.  She had been doing a lot of that this evening. By the way he was holding his hands next to each other, palms flat, parallel to the floor, shooting them off in to the air like the planes that they were representing, he was talking about his days in the Marine Corps.

Nobody was more shocked then I was when Cal won an appointment to the Naval Academy.  He had the grades and the athletic letters to go to college just about anywhere he wanted.  But he had this dream of becoming a fighter pilot, just like John Wayne in 'The Flying Leathernecks'.  I had given him one semester before he would get himself kicked out. Authority was never something Cal would take seriously.   But to my amazement he not only stayed in the Academy but graduated with honors.  Uncle Sam handed him a blank check to whatever career path he chose.  Meanwhile, I was still in Kewanee writing speeding tickets on Highway 42.  By the time I had worked my way into a plain clothes job, Cal was launching off the end of an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Atlantic.

The day after Calvin pinned on his lieutenant bars he handed his commanding officer his resignation.  Mom was devastated. Dad was livid.  I just questioned what it took him so damn long.  Cal had confided in me that his decision had something to do with either being found in the back seat of his colonel's car with the man's wife or being caught in the supply locker with his daughter.  It all depended on how drunk he was.  I knew the real reason he quit was because he had accomplished the goal he had set for himself and he was moving on to the next thing life had to offer. Calvin was blessed with nomad feet.

A laugh burst of laughter brought me back to the present.  I watched as Jordan grabbed a couple of beers out from under the bar.  Still giving Cal her full attention she walked around the front of the bar.  

Cal must have had finished his story by the sounds of the chatter coming from the bar.  Jordan just shook her head and to my amazement walked over to my table.  

"You look like you could use another one." she said as she set down next me putting her feet up on the chair next to her. 

"I see Cal has been keeping everybody entertained..."

"Your brother is something else Woody." I couldn't tell if she meant that as a good thing or a bad thing. 

Just then Max dropped beer at the end of the bar. Jordan stood up to go grab the mop.  Max motioned for her to stay seated.  Cal passed Max the bar mop from the back of the bar. I could hear Cal's baritone voice from where I sat...

"_Some Guinness was spilt on the barroom floor_

_When the pub was shut for the night_

_Out of his hole crept a wee brown mouse _

_And stood in the pale moonlight_

_He lapped up the frothy brew from the floor _

_Then back on his haunches he sat_

_And all the night you could hear him roar_

_'Bring on the goddamn cat!'"_

"He can sing too?" she said with a laugh.

"We're lucky.   That was one of his cleaner ones" I grabbed the beer from the table and lifted it to my mouth. If she had called for an encore, Cal would have had to find his own place to sleep tonight.  

When the hell did he say his return flight was? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

Thanks Beven for the bar song!


	4. The Perfect Storm

Cal, thank God, had decided against an encore and began to help Max clean up the mess.  
  
"Jordan, do you have that Stephenson file with you?"  
  
She still had the smile on her face from Cal's performance when she turned to look at me. Her mouth then formed a perfect O when she remembered the reason why I was there in the first place. "Ah, yes. It's outside in the Explorer. I was thinking maybe we could stop by the precinct and take a look at the police report."  
  
"I'll call down to records tomorrow and request it."  
  
I felt a fleeting sense of relief knowing I wouldn't have to deal with all this tonight with my brother looking over my shoulder. Futilely, I thought I would be able to put this whole thing off until Cal was leveling out at ten thousand feet. I took a long drag off of my beer as Jordan opened her mouth.  
  
"I, ah, made a call this afternoon and requested the file. I used your name, I hope you don't mind. It should be on your desk by now. If we leave....."  
  
I couldn't believe my ears. It was all I could do not to spray the mouth full of beer I had all over the table.  
  
"WHAT!?" I choked out.  
  
Jordan had the good sense to keep quiet.  
  
"You did what Jordan? You know you could me fired for this!"  
  
"Relax" she said scanning the room to see if anyone had noticed my outburst. "I told the clerk you were just doing a courtesy review of the case."  
  
"Great! Just great! Now I'm going to look like an Internal Affairs snitch...Thanks a lot Jordan."  
  
I hadn't noticed Calvin walking up until I heard his voice. "Woody, dude, I could hear you all the way over at the bar."  
  
Jordan saw her chance to escape and took it. "I'll get my stuff and meet you outside."  
  
She dashed away from the table faster then I could catch her. Cal sat down in the seat she had just vacated. "I'm going to take a stab in the dark here and say that Jordan didn't just invite you back to her place. So, where are we all heading now?"  
  
"WE are not going anywhere. I have to go back to the precinct for awhile." I stood up. Cal sprung up next to me like a bobber tied to a fishing line.  
  
"Come on bro...." I knew getting him to just to go back to my apartment and call it a night would have been out of the question by the expectant look that crossed over his face.  
  
"Alright, I'll give it to you as plainly as I possibly can. Keep your mouth shut, your hands to yourself and remember that I have to work there. Don't do anything stupid."  
  
Cal sighed deeply as if to say what's the fun it. "Whatever. Let's go, Jordan just left. "  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
We followed Jordan's SUV through the late night downtown traffic and arrived at the precinct. Even at this hour the place was buzzing. The squad room was a bee's nest of activity.  
  
Jordan stood between us as we waited at the desk sergeant's desk to sign Cal in and get him a visitor's pass. I looked around at the variety of people in the room. Blue uniforms and plain clothes alike were busy processing the array of handcuffed suspects. Others were milling about either waiting to be helped or just watching the late night floor show. Maybe it was the stifling heat of the room or maybe it was just the full moon, but something didn't feel right.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a kid that didn't look any more than fourteen or fifteen standing against the wall. His eyes were darting back and forth. He was wearing a jacket. The fact struck me as funny. It had to have been at least ninety degrees in there. Unconsciously, I put my hand on Jordan's elbow.  
  
"Do you see that Wood?" I heard Cal's soft voice off to my side. I focused my eyes on the youth and noticed a knife handle in the waistband of his low- slung jeans.  
  
I pulled Jordan's arm as Cal pushed her towards me. I was holding my breath as I pushed her in back of me.  
  
I looked over at Cal. His body was as tight as un-sprung spring. "Calvin, don't...."  
  
"I got a clean shot. Just by ready to bail my sorry ass out...."  
  
Everything happened in a split second. The kid reached into his jacket for the knife. Cal knocked it out of his hand and tackled him against the wall. If I wasn't so pissed off I would have been impressed. It was pandemonium until the kid was taken away.  
  
Cal ran a slightly shaky hand through his hair when he said "Well, that was fun. Did you plan that for my benefit or is it an everyday occurrence here."  
  
I couldn't speak I was so angry. I stood there opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of water.  
  
Jordan pushed through the middle of us and grabbed Cal's visitor pass off the sergeant's desk. "If you two are done playing cops and robbers, I've got things to do." She slapped the credit card sized plastic ID badge in Cal's hand and strode down the hallway towards my office.  
  
I gave Cal one last look that said we were far from done discussing this and followed Jordan down the hall. Cal hopped in step beside me. The look on his face said he apparently had already forgotten the commotion we had just left behind. Meanwhile, I was still trying to forget the picture that flashed in my mind of telling Mom how I got her baby boy stabbed by a wasted gang banger.  
  
Once in my office I was not surprised to see the Stephenson police report lying in my 'In' basket. Jordan's hand shot out and grabbed the folder up like it was the last chicken wing at free buffet.  
  
"Excuse me." Cal said to Jordan as he walked over to my desk and reached for the bottom left-hand drawer. He started unbuttoning his shirt. Jordan only nodded as she stepped aside. Her nose was buried deep inside the file.  
  
"Cal, just what in the hell do you think you are doing?"  
  
Cal turned to me fumbling with the last of his buttons. "What? You don't keep your clean shirts in there anymore?"  
  
I looked over at Jordan who had stopped reading the file to look up at us. Without missing a beat she said, "Yeah he keeps them in there. Just don't screw up that filing system of his. He's already cranky enough as it is."  
  
"What do you need one of my shirts for Cal?" My face must have showed my confusion because Jordan chuckled as she began to read the police report once more.  
  
"Dude, after a night behind the bar I smell like frat boy in Cancun on spring break." Before I could stop him he slung his dirty shirt over in the corner of the room and pulled out one of mine from the desk.  
  
He lifted another shirt out of the drawer and held it out to Jordan. I couldn't help but notice the slight pinking of her cheeks when she shook her head and said "No thank you, I'm fine."  
  
Cal tossed it back in the drawer with a dramatic sigh. "Oh well, it was worth a try."  
  
I realized that somewhere between having been woke up at three in the morning by a ringing phone and staring at gold military flight wings tattooed on my brother's chest; I had lost total control of my life.  
  
"Look here." Jordan motioned me over to look at the police report in her hand. "Some one from the mayor's office called and put an end to this investigation before it could even get started. The police never brought in her business manager in for questioning, who by the way lived one floor down from her. Isn't that a little strange."  
  
I watched Cal pull the half buttoned shirt over his head. It was only then that I noticed out of all my emergency shirts he had to pick the only one that was still brand new. "So what Jordan, I'm sure most eccentric multimillionaires have their accountants with in screaming distance. Just because he lived there is no reason to think he had anything to do with any of this. Amy Stephenson was known as fruitcake." I bit out.  
  
She looked up at me and shook her head. "Woody, I can handle this myself. I'll just put to report back on your desk when I'm done. I really think you need to go home and take a nap."  
  
"Yeah Wood," Cal said walking over to look over Jordan's shoulder at the police report. "You head on back. I'll stay here and help Jordan. She can give me a lift back to your place later. Ok, what are we looking at here."  
  
For a moment I was tempted to just walk out and leave Jordan to this mess by herself. Cal had to go and stick his nose into it. As much as I would have loved to just go home and go to bed I had the makings of Hurricane Jordan and Tropical Storm Calvin merging to become the Perfect Storm.  
  
Cal read over Jordan's shoulder for a moment and asked her to outright hand him the folder. "Help yourself." she said with a chuckle. I was too late to grab it out of his hands as Cal dodged his way back to my desk. He settled in and opened both reports.  
  
I fought the urge to turn on the Weather Channel.  
  
"Brodifacomn... nasty. Was she musophobic?"  
  
He asked looking up at Jordan. She shrugged her shoulders. He had a point. Massive amounts of rat poison in a state of the art high raise would point to a phobia of rodents.  
  
Cal thumbed through the M.E. report. "Termites too? Either she was living in a million dollar dump or she was having a few bad Haight-Ashbury flashbacks."  
  
"Termites?" I had to ask.  
  
"Chordane. It was used for termite control for years until they figured out it was causing some major birth defects. Frankly, I'm surprised to see it this far north."  
  
"What do you mean 'this far north' Cal?" Jordan asked.  
  
"You can buy it down in the warmer climates for the right price. When I was out in So Cal last year crop dusting the owner had a bunch of this crap in his 'special order' stash."  
  
When Cal took the job in Oxnard a year ago I finally thought he had found a real job. Good pay, he could fly airplanes everyday and never have to worry about having to wear a tie. It was too good to be true. He called two months in to the job to say he dropped a dime to the health department on some of the owner's business practices. The guy would buy banned chemicals from areas they were not restricted and smuggle them into the Ventura County. I told him I was proud of him. Cal brushed it off saying he liked fresh strawberries for his daiquiris too much to worry about if they were from fields he sprayed.  
  
"Would you know the stuff if you saw it?" Jordan asked looking expectantly at Cal.  
  
I could feel the nervous tick starting in my forehead. What did she have in mind?  
  
"Sure, dark yellow pool chlorine smelling stuff. Why what do you have in mind?"  
  
"Chemical testing around and inside the building yielded no signs of Chordane."  
  
"Chemical testing? I didn't see anything about chemical testing in there." I pointed to the reports on my desk and then it hit me. "You had them done yourself."  
  
She brushed of my concerns like she usually did. She chose to ignore me. "Mrs. Stephenson was a hermit on top of the rest of her problems. She hasn't been outside her front door in twenty years. Nigel found documents that prove her business manager has a summer home in the Caribbean. He travels there frequently. The case was closed before the police could get a warrant to search his apartment and storage unit in the basement of the building."  
  
"No Jordan, you are going to break into this man's home."  
  
"Don't get your drawers tied in knots farm boy...I don't think he would be stupid enough to keep the stuff in his apartment. We're going to break into his storage unit." She reached into her pants pocket and produced a key. "And it's going to be easy. We have a key."  
  
Cal held out his hand for the key. She dropped it in his hand. "Do you have a flashlight with you or do we need to stop and get one?"  
  
The Perfect Storm had just formed. I just hoped I wouldn't end up on the bottom of the ocean floor like George Clooney.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Stupid chapter I know...oh well. I'll try better next time. ;) 


	5. The Golden Child

Jordan carefully placing the Stephenson report's in her bag "What are we waiting for?" She turned and walked out of my office.  
  
"Sounds good. I'll catch up.... Woody, go home, get some sleep. I'll give you a call when we are done." Cal said as he slapped my shoulder.  
  
Before he could step out of the door I slammed it. "Just what in the hell do you think you are doing?"  
  
"Dude, don't worry....boundaries remember?" Cal punctuated the word 'boundaries' by making air quotes with his fingers.  
  
"I don't mean that you jackass...."  
  
I couldn't get another word in because he opened the door and escaped into the hallway. His long strides quickly caught up to Jordan who was just rounding the corner on her way back to the squad room. I had to run to catch up.  
  
"Wait up!" I yelled as they were signing out at the desk sergeant's desk. "Jordan, don't do this. We'll call in the morning. You may have something here. But breaking and entering is not the way to handle this."  
  
"Cal, was he always like this?"  
  
"Like what babe?"  
  
"Whiney and misunderstood."  
  
"Beautiful, have I got stories on Woodrow's poor misunderstood life."  
  
"Maybe you can tell me some over breakfast. Let's get going. It's two o'clock right now. I don't think we have to worry too much about having company in the basement."  
  
"Breakfast?! Breakfast?!" I muttered to myself. I stuck close as we all walked outside.  
  
Jordan unlocked the doors of her SUV and turned to me. "Woody, you don't need to do this. I understand. In fact it probably would be better if you stayed out of this."  
  
"You're probably right." I jumped into the passenger side of the vehicle, effective cutting off Cal. If he was stupid enough to get involved in one of Jordan's plans then he deserved to wad those ridiculously long legs into the back seat. "Someone needs to stand by to bail you both out of jail...again."  
  
"What? He's had to bail you out too? You know Jordan we have way too much in common..."  
  
"It's not too late to stop by the airport and see when the next available flight is." Cal didn't comment. He was too busy looking around the interior of Jordan's SUV.  
  
"So Jordan do you put dead people in here?"  
  
Jordan pulled out of the parking space and has a half a block away before she answered "Ah, no Cal they have different units for that."  
  
"Cool"  
  
Cal began to play with the back window. I knew I had an opportunity to find out what exactly Jordan had in mind.  
  
"What are planning on doing if you find this Chordane in the accountant's storage unit?"  
  
"Leave it of course and wait for you to arrange for a warrant. I want to nail this guy if he did it."  
  
"I just don't understand why he used the Chordane to start with." Cal said from the backseat. "The D-con would have been enough. I mean...well, if you going to knock off someone, why use something that can be traced right back to you?"  
  
"That's a good question Cal. And as soon as we can bring this guy into questioning we'll find out."  
  
"This guy is sounds pretty stupid."  
  
"True, my money says he tried to kill her with the Chordane. It doesn't take much to be fatal especially to an old woman. I think he was capitalizing on her phobias to make it look like she died accidentally. Only I think he didn't do his homework. He never found out that Chordane is banned stateside."  
  
I listened with interest to the exchange. What if Jordan had a point? What if this guy was just incredibly stupid? There was one big hole in her theory. "So why did she die from the rat poison?"  
  
"Maybe because she didn't die quick enough."  
  
Jordan pulled up in front of the building and put the vehicle in park. The three of us looked out at the bay front apartment building rising out of the well light manicured courtyard around it.  
  
"Here we are!" Cal announced and grabbed the door handle.  
  
"Stop! We can't just go barging in there. We need a plan." I called out. Cal's hand stopped. He looked up at me in surprise.  
  
"Dude, it almost sounds like you up for a little breaking and entering."  
  
I could only shake my head at him. Calvin never really thought of unauthorized entry as a big to do. As far as I knew his life of burglary was restricted to a series of panty raids in high school, but this time we were looking at a building with a security system.  
  
"We have to get through security Calvin. Do we have any ideas?"  
  
Jordan reached into her bag and produced a piece of paper. "Here"  
  
She handed me the paper and looked back out at the building.  
  
"What is this?" I looked at the paper there was a series of numbers on it.  
  
"The keypad code."  
  
"And I suppose you got it the same place as you did the key."  
  
She rolled her eyes as if to say 'of course'. Cal grabbed the number out of my hand and read it. After a second he looked up at Jordan.  
  
"I'm a little rusty at this intrigue stuff am I suppose to eat this paper now?"  
  
"No, I don't think that's necessary."  
  
Cal opened his door and jumped out on to the curb with a bounce. "Come on brub, it will be like old times. You, me and the cheerleader's.......pom poms"  
  
Jordan, I thanked all that's holy, decided to keep her mouth shut. But the effort apparently pushed her limits by the look that was on her face. I knew, without a doubt, this little tidbit of brotherly gossip would rear its ugly head sometime in my foreseeable future and in front of as many of my acquaintances as possible. For the second time in one night I wanted the earth to open and swallow me whole.  
  
I cleared my throat and said "Jordan you stay here and call my cell if you see anything."  
  
"Sure thing, Woody...um, the storage units are down a stairwell by the side exit over there..."  
  
I stepped out onto the curb. "Just how did you get all of this.... information Jordan?"  
  
"I looked into leasing an apartment today. I asked for a little privacy from the realtor..... A little polymer mold of the master key and a test drive of the security system and here we are."  
  
Cal clapped his hand on my shoulder "God, I love this woman." Cal took off in a trot toward the building. I caught up with him as he was punching the code onto the lock pad.  
  
"Cal, wait we can't just barge in. What if someone is in there?"  
  
"It's a building full of people Wood. If we run into someone we act like we belong....."  
  
Cal pulled opened the door and strode in I followed quickly on his tail and came eye to eye with a lady and her little dog. I didn't know who was more shocked, me or the little dog. I didn't have time to think about it. Cal wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me out of the doorway. He gallantly held the door for the woman who was apparently taking her dog out for a middle of the night walk.  
  
I began to mentally calculate the amount of jail time we would be looking at when Cal said "Sorry ma'am. He's had a little too much to drink tonight." Cal's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper as he leaned closer to the woman. "Between you and me I usually don't bring them home after a first date, but he wouldn't take no for an answer ....."  
  
The woman that out an indignant huff and stormed out of the building. She turned back to look at us once more. Cal smiled at her and slapped my butt as the fire door shut.  
  
"I can't believe you just did that." I said stepping away from him.  
  
"Hey, it will give her something to bitch about in the next tenants meeting. Now where is the stairwell to the basement?"  
  
Cal began to pick his way down the hallway. We soon found the fire door to the stairwell.  
  
"You are just having too much fun with this brother." I said once we were in the stairwell. I couldn't keep that irritated tone out of my voice that had been plaguing me all day.  
  
Cal stopped on the landing and turned to look at me. "Woody, you have had a stick up your ass since I got here. What the hell is it this time?"  
  
I wondered if he wanted the long list or the short list. "This is not the time or place to talk about it."  
  
He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms. "We are not going anywhere until you tell me why."  
  
"Guess again." I started back down the stairwell and opened the fire door into the basement.  
  
"It's Jordan isn't it?" He said as he fell in step behind me. "Dude, I told you. You saw her first...."  
  
"No, Cal it's not Jordan!" I all but yelled back at him. "It's you! It's everything about you."  
  
. "Sorry to rain on your parade but Mom and Dad didn't give me much of a choice on being conceived...." Cal pushed passed me and searched for the chain link partitioned area we were looking for  
  
I began to look at the storage cribs on the opposite side of the room from Cal. "Would you listen to yourself Calvin? You have a smartass answer for everything don't you?"  
  
"It's what gets me through the day bro. We all can't be the golden child...."  
  
I stopped in front of the unit we were looking for. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?"  
  
Cal turned the corner and saw me standing next to the door. He handed me the master key. "You big brother. Do you how hard it is to have to follow in your shadow?" 


	6. Home on the Lake

 "Oh give me a break..."I snorted as I unlocked the door. 

"I change my mind Woody, it's not a stick up your ass it's a two by four..." he muttered. If he weren't standing toe to toe with him I would have missed it.

"I don't have anything up my butt.  It's just you Calvin.  Since the day you were born you have had the ability to suck all the air out of a room just by being in it." 

Cal physically pushed me aside to stride into the storage unit.  He stood with his hands on his hips apparently trying to decide where to start.

"Not always...you'd usually beat me to it.....here, you're a cop.  It wouldn't be good finding your figure prints all over this place." He pulled out a set of latex gloves out of his back pocket.

 It was only then that I noticed he already had a pair on himself.  I was running around so half cocked I had completely forgotten why we were there in the first place. 

"Thanks." I said sheepishly and donned the gloves.  With a sigh I pointed to a corner of the unit. I began to search it while Cal started on the opposite side.

"Why are you really here Cal? Why did you have to come to Boston? Was it  to prove to me just pathetic my life really is?"

Cal used his foot to push a box over at me.  "Here Woody, I think this box is sturdy enough to hold you.  You'll excuse me if I don't pull up a chair to listen though..."

"You were in town less then an hour before you had to rub it in about Bobby Knapp taking over my life back home."

He stood up and looked at me for a second. "Get over yourself brother dear. You got it sweet here.  And if I remember right you were the one who brought up the subject on the way to your place from the airport.  What the hell do you care anyway?  You left home behind and never looked back."  

Cal pulled a stack of boxes aside and stepped deeper into the storage unit. I abandoned the corner I was searching and moved over to a set of suitcases.

"Look who's calling the kettle black.  What about you?  Calvin, you couldn't wait to leave Kewaunee.  It still amazes me you ever came back."

Mumbling something I couldn't understand, Cal stepped out from behind the stack of boxes he had a trail of cobwebs following him. I fought the impulse to check for the trail I knew was hanging off me.

"I didn't have choice.  It was either get out or go through life listening to Dad's every other Thursday speech 'Why Couldn't You Be More Like Your Brother?'... I was always being compared you, and always kept coming up short."

"Coming up short Cal?  You've lived a life that Hemingway would envy.  I just go through the motions."

"Woody you had your life planned out by the time you were twelve.  When I was twelve I was still trying to figure out how they put toothpaste in the tube.  I had to play catch up.  I had to work harder, play harder...After awhile it was just easier to go off the deep end.  Within the first semester at Annapolis I knew I had made a mistake.  But it was too late.  I couldn't go back home like that.  You had just left the Police Academy the top of your class and waltzed back into town right were you knew you would be.  The perfect job, the perfect girl on your arm and Dad bragging to anyone who would listen....Have you looked over there yet?"  

Cal pointed to a utility bench sitting against the back of the storage room.  I shook my head. I was too shocked by what I was hearing to speak.

"I stuck it out for as long as I could.  One night I was flying a training mission over the North Atlantic freezing my ass off and thinking about an email I had received from you earlier in the day.  You had sent me a picture of the three of you... you, Annie & Bobby All water-skiing out on the lake.  You all looked so happy.  I could almost hear the engine on the old man's boat.  I wanted to be there so bad I could taste it.  I realize now that that picture was the reason I quit the Corps..............Why did you leave Wisconsin the second I found my way home?" 

The question came out of the blue.  I stopped what I was doing and looked over at him.  He was busy digging through a stack of forgotten periodicals by the looks of the papers in his hands.  With a snort he tossed them back in the box and began to dig further under the bench.

I did have to admit that the itch to leave Kewaunee became unbearable when he landed inside the city limits with bags in tow.   It was easier to hate him when he was somewhere else on the planet.  But I never thought he was the reason I left.

"Do you think I left home because of you?"

"If the shoe fits..." 

 He pulled back from under the bench with a large box in hands. He sat down heavily on the floor and began to search it.

"Cal, I left because I needed something else.  There was this little voice in my head that said I didn't belong there anymore."

"Ironic. My little voice said get your ass back where you belong......Bingo!  I found it." 

I stepped closer and looked over his shoulder.  He lifted out a zip-lock bag full of what looked like yellow sand out from the box. 

"Woody, hang on to this." 

He handed me the bag and pulled a small evidence bag out of the same pocket he pulled the gloves out of.  He apparently was very busy while sitting in the backseat of Jordan's SUV.  I had to wonder what else he took.  We managed to get a small sample of the pesticide and went about returning the storage unit back to the way it was when we got there.  With in moments we were heading toward the stairs. 

The fire door slowly opened.  We looked at each other and dashed in opposite directions to hide.  All I could think of was that the insomniac with the little dog had got suspicious and called for help.  This night was getting better and better.  From were I hid I couldn't get a good view of the door.  I heard soft steps walking around toward the storage unit we had just searched.  There was a muffled, decidedly feminine yelp followed by Cal's deep chuckle.

I rushed around the corner to see Jordan pushing an amused Cal against a chain link wall. My relief was palpable. 

"You scared the crap out of me. What is taking you two so long?  I was beginning to think you got lost."

Cal lifted the evidence bag up in front of Jordan's face. 

"This it?"

"Yep"

Jordan quickly grabbed the bag and stuffed it in her bag. "Let' gets get out of here."

Cal led the way out of the building.  The trip out was much easier than the trip in.  Other than a stray word here or there to Jordan, Cal was silent.  I turned and looked at him sitting in the backseat of Jordan's SUV as we pulled away from the building. 

"Jordan, you want to drop me off at Woody's.  I think I've had enough fun for one night." 

"Ah, sure thing Cal." Jordan looked over at me.

I turned back to look out of the windshield at the empty city streets. Where did everything go so wrong....

We rode in silence to my building.  Jordan had barely put the vehicle in park when Cal jumped out on to the sidewalk.  He reached his hand toward my open window and held it open, palm up.

"Relax; I won't loot your apartment while you're gone."

I reached in my pocket and pulled out my keys I put them in his hand.  Before I could say anything he turned and walked away.

"Do you care to tell me what just happened?" Jordan said from the driver's seat. 

"Not really."

 I looked back out the windshield.  If Cal wanted to be like that so be it.  I still had to worry about how I was going to convince my boss that the Stephenson case needed to be reopened without telling him about how I dragged my civilian, out-of- town brother in an illegal search and seizure.  Jordan drove to the precinct.  The place was bustling as usual.  I had a few phone calls to make. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was coming up when I stepped foot outside of the building.   Jordan had left about an hour before.  I unconsciously reached for my keys.  "Shit." I muttered.

"You look like you could use a ride."  I turned around to see Cal leaning against my car. 

"That's not my parking space." Cal had obviously moved my car from its designated place down the street.

"I didn't think.....Captain Albert...how do you pronounce that?" Cal was squinting at the nameplate in front of the parking space.

"Lywyckij"

"Whatever.  I don't think ol' Bert would be parking here this early on a Sunday morning. I didn't want to miss you coming out.  I could have been sitting down the street all day if you had lucky or something.  But when I saw Jordan come out alone, awhile back, I figured I was pretty safe."  He looked off for a moment "I'm sorry how I acted earlier."

"You shouldn't be.  I've been a jerk since you called from the airport."

"True.......  Come on there's got to be an IHOP around here somewhere.  I'm starving."

I could barely keep my eyes open and the thought of just going to bed, sleeping for ten hours filled my head.  I shook my head as I watched Cal play air drums to a song that could only be heard in his own head.  Breakfast sounded like a good thing. 

"Come on, there's a place around the corner."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Calvin was on his second stack of pancakes I had filled him in on what was happening with Jordan's "favor."  After a few phone calls and a little before dawn, Amy Stephenson's accountant was sitting in interrogation spilling everything. It seems the old lady was screaming for an internal audit of her estate.  He was afraid she would find about millions in mishandled funds. It was just like what Jordan had speculated.

"So basically you are telling me this guy was just plain stupid."  Cal said between hurried mouthfuls.

"Stupid; but he almost got away with it....Cal why are you eating so fast?"

"Dude I just looked at the clock."  He pointed his fork at the clock hanging on the wall behind me. It read seven o'clock. "My flight leaves in little over an hour..... You know how airport check-in is..."

"An hour?!" 

Cal upended his coffee and threw his napkin on the table. "I can't miss this flight.  I have to iron a uniform.  I'm going to be on the six o'clock news tonight."

The look of confusion must have been obvious.  Cal patted my shoulder as he stood up from the booth to pay the waitress. 

"I knew I stayed passed my twenty four limit by a few, but I need to be at the sheriff's office by five. We're doing a dog and pony show for the press." 

I followed him out the door. "What are you talking about?"

"I start my new job Monday.  I thought I told you? With everything that happened I must have forgot."

"Ah, no you didn't." I thought if this job included a story on the six o'clock news, I probably should be concerned. "What is it?"

"Dude, I going to fly the sheriff department's new chopper.  It's sweet.   Rolls Royce engine, infrared cameras, motion sensors and a 40 million candlelight searchlight. I swear you can see that baby from the space station...." 

"What about the new deputy with the redheaded wife."

"Who? Oh yeah, well...I can handle that."

For some reason I didn't think there was an issue with the new deputy. there probably never was.

"Can we talk about this on the way to the airport?  My stuff is already in the trunk. We need to go."

On the way to the airport Cal talked about the job offer.  I drove in a daze. The sheriff's department had talked about getting a helicopter for years.  Must be the funding came in. It seemed with Cal's previous military training Bobby told him the job was his if he wanted it.  Flying a helicopter was vastly different than flying an F-16. I had questions.

"Do you know how to fly one of those things?" 

"I had some training in Pensacola and I just spent three weeks training with the type machine I will be using.... I got my certificate on Friday."

"You are serious aren't you?"

"Do you want to see the paper? I know it's hard to believe.  I guess if The Department couldn't keep one Hoyt they'd settle for another. The pay sucks, but gets me out of under Dad's roof.  Maybe I can moonlight in a bar.  Last night was fun."

"But you told me just yesterday you didn't have a job."

"Dude, I don't start until M-O-N-D-A-Y." He enunciated every letter. "You really don't do well without much sleep, do you."  

I gave up trying to get the straight story.  Talking to Calvin was always a jumble of random thoughts.  We pulled up to the departure gates at the airport. Cal jumped out and grabbed his bags out of the truck. After searching for his ticket for a few moments he turned to me.

"Well, I guess this is it."

"Wait. Let me park and I'll walk with you to the gate."

"There's no time bro.  They'll be calling my flight any minute. I'll send you a tape of the news report."

"You do that Cal." I put my arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I'm proud of you."   I whispered through the foreign catch in my throat. 

"Would you stop that? I know this is a liberal state and all but people are going to stare."  I stepped back, picked up one of his bags and handed it to him.

 "Tell Jordan goodbye for me."

"I will."

"I can see what keeps you here in Beantown.  You got it good here Wood.  It suits you."   With a smile he turned and walked toward the sliding doors.  The shoulders of his shirt stretched from the weight of his bags.

"Hey, you still have on my good shirt!"

"I needed a new one anyway.  Thanks dude." he yelled over his shoulder. "See you quail season..."

If I don't see you first bro.  If I don't see you first. I opened the car door fell into the driver's seat. I pulled slowly away from the curb.  Home, shower, sleep.  My phone rang. With a sigh I answered it. 

_"Hoyt, you sound like hell."_

"Good morning to you too Jordan." 

_"I wanted to call and say thanks for all you guys did..."_

"Don't worry about it."  

 I suddenly thought about the picture I had emailed Cal just before he quit the military. I wondered if Dad would mind if I used his boat....

"Jordan?"

_"Yes"_

"What are you doing next weekend?"

_"I don't know. Why?"_

"How would you like to join my brother and me on the lake?......"

The End


End file.
